On the shelves of our stores, along with apples, pears, plums, apricots and other traditional fruits, their exotic counterparts have recently appeared - avocados, kiwis, mangoes and other outlandish specimens. In addition, there are such fruits that are not exported from the place of growth and sometimes have a strange and unusual appearance, as well as taste and smell. What unusual fruits of the world can surprise an ordinary consumer?
Wonders of nature
Unusual fruits are something that is not very familiar to our eye and taste preferences. In these exotic little things we can see something similar to our fruits and vegetables. Sometimes they are associated with completely inedible things, and sometimes cause outright disgust.
Nevertheless, nature is rich in miracles. And even if these wonders are sold in stores, not every buyer dares to take an unfamiliar overseas fruit.
TOP 10 weirdest fruits
Our planet is rich in a variety of fruits, unusual, outlandish, the existence of which many do not even know.
Of the great variety of overseas exotic, we will conditionally try to name the most unusual fruits:
- Kiwano . African horned melon with a gelatinous content that looks like a sweet cucumber.
- Romanescu . Something between cauliflower and broccoli high in antioxidants.
- Buddha's hand . A kind of lemon under a very thick skin.
- Durian (or durio) . The king of fruits, hiding amazingly delicious contents under incredibly smelly skin.
- Monstera . The fruits taste like pineapple.
- Paw paw . Banana of the North American Prairies. It differs from the usual short form and strong aroma.
- Pitaya (or Dragon Fruit) . Sweet white balls with small edible seeds.
- Jabotacaba. It grows directly on a tree trunk, similar in taste to a plum.
- Star fruit . Taste hybrid of mango, grape and lemon yellow, in the context of a star-like.
- Goat beard . The root is brown in color with a pronounced taste of oysters.
This is only a small part of the plants that are distributed throughout the globe.
Incredible combination
Unusual fruits and vegetables sometimes combine the incompatible. This can be said about such an exotic fruit as durian .
It is a plant in the Malvaceae family that grows in forests in southeast Asia. Has large flowers either white or red. Over time, fruits grow in their place. They have a very hard shell and powerful spines.
The durian fruit itself weighing from 2 to 10 kg has a very disgusting smell. For this reason, it cannot be stored indoors. From the store to the house, the fruits must be transferred in a separate package, which is then discarded.
Hard skin can be cut with a large knife and thick gloves ... and under it there is a pulp with a divine taste.
The fruits of this fruit, causing their smells of hellish visions, and taste - paradise pleasure, are very valuable in Asia and South America.
Deadly Exotica
Photos of unusual fruits are presented to your attention in the article. Below is the aki fruit . A chance encounter with this fruit during the trip can end very badly.
It grows in Jamaica and is a national fruit. The fetus can be fatal if used improperly.
Aki contains a high content of toxins that die during heat treatment, and then the fruit turns into a real delicacy with a subtle nutty flavor.
Today, fruit is widely distributed in Central Asian and American cuisine. Used to prepare side dishes, it is served with bacon, fish, pancakes.
The ingenious decision
The square watermelon was bred by Japanese farmers. And this is just their whim. So they solved the problem of shortage of retail space. The square shape of this berry takes up much less space than the round. Such watermelons are easy to store, pack and transport.
The creative approach of Japanese farmers is that they placed a young watermelon ovary in a cubic shape equal to the height of the shelves of refrigerators in Japanese supermarkets.
The first such watermelon appeared about forty years ago. But Japanese farmers did not stop there: they have already bred a watermelon-pyramid, which is used to decorate shop windows.
Square watermelon is another example of what unusual vegetables and fruits are. The photo clearly demonstrates the ideal shape of the cube.
Following Japanese farmers, fruits and vegetables of an unusual geometric shape began to grow around the world. Today, square cucumbers and tomatoes, lemons with a heart and an asterisk and many other wonders are known.
Chocolate persimmon
Fruits that taste like real chocolate pudding are also unusual fruits. They are called the black boot. A tree producing such fruits grows in Guatemala and Southern Mexico.
The evergreen plant of the persimmon genus of the ebony family reaches 25 meters in height. Fruit with a diameter of 5-12 cm at first has a green color, at the stage of maturity it becomes dark. The ripe fruit has a black flesh with the taste of chocolate pudding.
The pulp of this exotic fruit is widely used in cooking. It is added to pastries, ice cream, alcoholic cocktails.
The use of unusual fruits
It would seem how you can use these foods? The answer is obvious: for cooking various dishes. But unusual fruits have found along with this another application.
Soap is prepared from the peel of unripe fruits, and the pulp of greens goes to make poison for fishing.
The hand of Buddha is used by the Chinese as a home talisman, since this fruit sometimes has nothing but the peel, therefore, is unsuitable for food.
Pandanus , or helical palm, forms the seeds that are used to make paint and dental floss.
A Chinese wild strawberry tree with fruits similar to candied sweets is used to decorate parks and gardens.
In Thailand, a yellow watermelon is used as a talisman to attract money.
Unusual use was found by Romanescu cabbage. Mathematics scientists use its form to explain the geometric concept of fractal.
Recipes
Unusual fruits can be one of the ingredients of an exotic dish.
Passion fruit syrup can be used when baking pastries and mixing cocktails. To make it, you will need water and sugar (1 glass each) and passion fruit pulp (half a cup). All the ingredients must be mixed in a small container, brought, stirring, to a boil, boil for 15 minutes and cool.
Rambutan salad will be a real decoration of the festive table. The following ingredients are required for its preparation: canned rambutan (1 can), crab sticks (20 grams), boiled rice (80 grams), yogurt for dressing, salt, pepper, greens. Grind and mix everything, season with yogurt. Rambutan syrup will go into the preparation of sweet drinks.
Mango sorbet will pleasantly surprise any gourmet. The following products will be used for its preparation: 2 fruits of mango, half a cup of water and sugar, 1 tbsp. l lime juice. At the first stage, sugar and water mixed in a small container are boiled for 5 minutes. Then this syrup must be cooled. Next, peel the mangoes, remove the seeds, chop the pulp in a blender until smooth. Then gently combine the syrup, mashed potatoes and lime juice. Pour the resulting mixture into a mold and send to the refrigerator for three hours. Every half hour, whisk the sorbet with a whisk. The cooked delicacy is distinguished by its delicate structure, pleasant taste and aroma.
Recipes with exotic unusual fruits and vegetables can diversify our diet.